Spice Jazz Presents: LYDIAN COLLECTIVE at The Courtyard Theatre

‘Lydian Collective make genre-crashing, boundary-smashing music seem effortless’

- CLASH MAGAZINE

‘Life affirming music’

- Nick Luscombe BBC Radio 3

With over 6 million Spotify streams and more than 2 million YouTube views, London-based instrumental jazz/fusion four-piece Lydian Collective have established themselves as a musical tour de force in the UK and beyond. 

Their debut album ‘Adventure’ released on digital, CD and vinyl in March 2018. Within days, it reached the top 10 in the iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Bandcamp Jazz charts, and had extensive official playlisting on several Spotify editorial favourites, including State of Jazz, Fusion Fest, and Jazz UK. BBC Radio 3’s Nick Luscombe called the album ‘Life affirming music’.

The band’s second album - ‘Return’ - released in October 2022 to wide acclaim. Within two weeks it had amassed over 500,000 streams on Spotify alone, and their launch show at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club sold out. 

The Lydian Collective sound is a unique combination of accessible melodies, accomplished musicianship, hypnotic rhythms and an uplifting vibe, which has already been drawing in audiences from around the world. 

The millions who follow the band’s online channels include fans from as far afield as the USA, China and Japan – with a healthy following on home ground as well, through early support from the likes of Tom Robinson at BBC6Music.

Having played at some of the most prominent venues in the UK and Europe – including Ronnie Scott’s, Jazz Café London (supporting the legendary Billy Cobham), London Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Shambala Festival, Secret Garden Party, So What’s Next? Festival Eindhoven, 606 Club, Camden Assembly and Union Chapel – Lydian Collective show no signs of slowing down. 2019’s highlights included taking to the Main Jazz Arena Stage at Cheltenham Jazz Fest, as well as a once-in-a-lifetime performance with the 85-piece Capital Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, where the band’s music was especially arranged for a full ensemble. In 2024, the band will play at two festivals in Denmark, and are slated to join the line-up of Montreux Jazz Festival in China. 

Lydian Collective are:

Aaron Wheeler (keys)

Ida Hollis (bass)

Todd Baker (guitar)

Sophie Alloway (drums)